Newslinks for Monday 28th September 2015

Labour conference 1) Corbyn welcomes hardliners back into the party…

“Jeremy Corbyn has given a trenchant interview marking the start of Labour conference in which he said the punishment of those involved in student riots was too harsh, blamed Nato for provoking Russia into invading Ukraine and defended his relationships with Irish republican terrorists. The new leader also said that he welcomed “anyone” to join the Labour party, including those members of Militant who were expelled by Neil Kinnock more than 30 years ago and went off to form rival parties.” – The Times (£)

Labour conference 2) …and hints at planned tax increases

“Labour will today signal a major tax raid on the middle classes as the party shifts even further to the Left. John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor and a follower of Karl Marx, will use his conference speech to call for a ‘new economics’ to redistribute wealth from the better off to those on benefits. New leader Jeremy Corbyn gave the first hint of the new direction yesterday when he warned of inheritance tax hikes.” – Daily Mail

Party plans to redistribute wealth with raids on middle class – Daily Telegraph

McDonnell sets out tax rises for the wealthy and businesses – Financial Times

Labour conference 3) Leadership softens Trident line amidst disunity at the top

“Labour’s new leadership has signalled its readiness to compromise on the economy, Syria and the Trident nuclear deterrent as Jeremy Corbyn tries to maintain harmony in his deeply divided shadow cabinet. Britain’s opposition party said on Sunday it would allow a free vote over government plans to join the US-led coalition in air strikes in Syria, despite Mr Corbyn’s deeply held pacifist beliefs.” – Financial Times

Humiliation for Corbyn as conference spurns Trident debate – The Times (£)

John McTernan: Labour members deciding policy is a daft idea

“It has become fashionable in modern politics to praise the wisdom of ordinary party members. Openness and involvement are all the rage. The latest twist is Jeremy Corbyn’s promise to give control over Labour policymaking to the membership at large. This is a really bad idea.” – The Times (£)

Party prepares to unveil new plans to give members a say in making policy – The Independent

“Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell last night faced fresh questions over his active support for violence and intimidation. It came after it emerged that he had said Tory MPs should not be allowed to ‘show their face anywhere’ without being subjected to ‘direct action’.” – Daily Mail

“We know where we are: we are in that golden period which began when Michael Foot became Labour leader in November 1980 and ended with his party’s utter rout at the hands of Margaret Thatcher in June 1983. It was a happy time when we could shock our readers day after day, just by reproducing what the Left said. And we were energised by the level of hatred aimed at us at Labour Party conferences.” – Daily Telegraph

Cameron urges the USA to shut Guantanamo Bay…

“David Cameron last night called for the closure of Guantanamo Bay as he welcomed the imminent return of Shaker Aamer to Britain. The Prime Minister said he was ‘pleased’ that the father of four, the last British resident detained in the prison, was being released. But he stressed it was important for the fight against terrorism around the world that the camp is now closed.” – Daily Mail

…tries to bring Iran into an anti-ISIS pact…

“David Cameron will hold talks with Iran’s President Rouhani tomorrow in an attempt to build a world alliance of old enemies to defeat IS. And the PM admitted last night he was “comfortable” with Russia joining a coalition to crush the terror group. The move could alarm critics given the UK’s bitter rows with Russia over Ukraine and Iran’s support for terrorists targeting British troops in Iraq.” – The Sun (£)

…and pledges to spend aid budget spreading green energy in the third world

“Billions of pounds from Britain’s ballooning aid budget will be spent on helping Third World countries cope with climate change and adopt ‘green energy’, it was revealed last night. David Cameron announced a 50 per cent increase in the amount of aid spending on the controversial initiative – taking the total to £5.8billion over five years. That is the equivalent of the annual budget of the Ministry of Justice.” – Daily Mail

“An exploratory committee of MPs from the Conservative and Labour parties and one from the UK Independence party is becoming the “parliamentary planning committee” for Mr Elliott’s group. There is one complication. Arron Banks, a former Ukip donor, is hoping that his rival Leave.Eu group will win approval from the Electoral Commission as the official Out campaign.” – Financial Times

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